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Federal Market Intelligence for Small Business |
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Column: Make These New Year’s Resolutions for 2019By Tom Johnson, publisher, Set-Aside AlertA new calendar year is upon us! It’s the perfect time to update your government paperwork, SAM (System for Award Management) and DSBS (Dynamic Small Business Search) listings, contracting reports and filings and saved searches in federal databases. The number of new opportunities on the street has dropped like a rock, so take advantage of some free time and do your homework. Here is a checklist of things to do now--and then schedule a review again later in the year to maximize your federal contracting success. Confirm your NAICS Codes Review all of your NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) codes and confirm every one of them. Do you have too many NAICS codes listed? If you’re claiming a wide variety of industry codes, your listing will be suspect. What NAICS codes have you registered for your business? And what other NAICS codes are you considering “just in case”? Are you in the wholesale or retail distribution market? Did you know that NAICS codes in the range of 42xxxx, 44xxxx and 45xxxx series are ignored in federal acquisition markets, and you should list yourself under the relevant manufacturing codes? Have you covered everything you do? There are some “umbrella” codes that also may apply to you, such as those in the construction series. Industrial Building Construction might be used when the job is really only painting or carpentry. Alternatively, a project may be listed as Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (541611) when it is actually Office Administrative Services (561110). Be alert for these nuances and tweak your codes accordingly. One way to verify your choices is to do a search on the Federal Business Opportunities website (FBO.gov) on alternate codes and see what comes up. Is it work you are capable of doing? Confirm Product/Service Codes We have learned that Product/Service Code (PSC) searches in FBO.gov are often more reliable than NAICS code searches. That is because PSC codes were designed for federal procurement use, while NAICS codes were designed for census purposes. PSC codes are part of almost every FBO.gov bid listing. The full PSC list is at https://bit.ly/2PsZ4Cc. If you are not sure which codes apply to you, search FBO.gov by PSC code to see if it applies to your business. DSBS listing The DSBS pages (see http://dsbs.sba.gov) are used by many contracting officers and OSDBUs (Offices of Small & Disadvantaged Business utilization) to identify and qualify small businesses. Your company information was automatically posted in DSBS when you completed your SAM listing, and is updated each time you update SAM. Compare your DSBS listing with those of a couple of your competitors. If a contracting specialist is looking for bidders, which one will he or she select? Does your company fade away against the competition? Starting with DSBS, search your company (1) by name and (2) by telephone number – try it both ways. Is your listing up to date? Put your best foot forward:
Make note of all items that are missing or need updating. To enter the changes, you will need to go to SAM.gov, except for address changes. Address change If your business has changed addresses, go to your Dun & Bradstreet DUNS number listing to make the appropriate changes at https://iupdate.dnb.com/. Check back a few days later to make sure the changes were processed on into SAM and DSBS. SAM and DSBS edits Use your username and password for SAM to edit both the SAM and the DSBS databases. Allow some time for this effort since the login process for SAM.gov is changing. Starting with SAM, thoroughly check your SAM registration listing. Look for inaccurate data, old contact information, missing NAICS codes and other gaps. Make any necessary changes. As you finish your updates on SAM, but before you submit your updates, you will be given an opportunity to link to your SBA Profile — this takes you to the editing functions for DSBS. Enter any necessary updates to your DSBS listing, using the editing function. During your update of your DSBS listing, be sure to add certifications, keywords, past contracts, website URLs, email addresses and export interests. Once you have finished editing DSBS, return to SAM and submit your updates. FBO.gov review Another important step to success is to review how you monitor FBO.gov for new opportunities, event notices and “Sources Sought” notices. Are you looking at all small business set-asides, not just special categories such as 8(a), HUBZone, or women-owned? Our Set-Aside Alert daily e-mailed Contract Opportunities bulletins make it easy for you to be sure you have seen all available federal set-aside jobs. Conclusion The pace at which new solicitations are issued is currently at a low point. Use this opportunity to fine-tune your processes and make sure your company is displayed at its best in the government databases.
Tom Johnson is the publisher of Set-Aside Alert and president of Business Research Services in Bethesda, MD. He can be reached via email at tjohnson@setasidealert.com.
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